(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an emitter coupled logic (ECL) circuit, more particularly to an ECL circuit which receives a set input for forcibly setting its output to a "high" level (logic high level).
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Recently, ECL circuits have been coming into wide use for logic gate circuits due to their high operation speed. In one application, the ECL circuit is used with a set circuit. This type of ECL circuit usually comprises a differential pair of transistors for receiving complementary data inputs, a set or reset transistor, resistors, and a constant current source. In this ECL circuit, the set or reset input applied to the base of the set or reset transistor usually has a "low" level (logic low level). Thus, the output of the ECL circuit is determined by the state of the data inputs. When a "high" level signal is applied to the set input, the output of the ECL circuit is fixed to the "high" level regardless of the state of the data inputs. When a "high" level signal is applied to the reset input, the output is fixed to the "low" level.
In a prior art ECL circuit with a set circuit, the emitter of the set or reset transistor is directly connected to the emitters of the differential pair of transistors. Thus, to securely set or reset the output of the ECL circuit by the set or reset input, the threshold voltage of the set or reset transistor is made smaller than the threshold voltage of the differential pair of transistors. Therefore, even if the "H" level of the set or reset input is equal to the "H" level of the data inputs, the set or reset transistor is preferentially turned on when compared with the threshold voltage of the differential pair of transistors.
In current transistor manufacturing technology, however, the difference between the threshold levels of the differential transistors is at most several dozen mV. Accordingly, too much random variation of the signals applied to the gate of the set or reset transistor can disturb the operation of the set or reset transistor. Thus, in the above-mentioned prior art ECL circuit, it is necessary to make the "high" level signal applied to the set input higher than the "high" level signal applied to the data input. This, however, complicates the circuit construction.